Given name & surname
Wenzel
“one who receives more glory”
In German use, Wenzel is a form of Wenceslas. One Slavic interpretation is “one who receives more glory.”
Original GermanWencel
Meaning & origin
What it means
In German use, Wenzel carries the interpretation “one who receives more glory.” In German use, Wenzel is a form of Wenceslas. One Slavic interpretation is “one who receives more glory.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
Wenzel is used as a form of Wenceslas.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Wenzel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 147
- 147 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 13 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 147 as a first name in 2020; 11,033 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Wenzel’s family of names
In German usage, Wenzel is a diminutive of Wenceslaus. In German usage, Wenzel shares an earlier linguistic root with Fatzke. In German usage, Wenzel has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form WENCESLAO.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Wenzel has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Germanwhere Wenzel comes from · 13 names
Nicknames & forms 21
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 17
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Wenzel
- Wenceslaus I of Saxe-WittenbergElector of Saxony, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg and Prince of Lüneburg1337–1388
- Wenzel Müllercomposer (1759-1835)
- Václav Eusebius František, Prince of LobkowiczCzech hofmeister and nobleman (1609-1677)
- Wenzel von WurmAustro-Hungarian general1859–1921
- Prince Franz Josef of LiechtensteinLiechtensteiner Princier (1962–1991)
- Wenzel Robert von GallenbergAustrian composer and theatre director (1783-1839)
- Wenzel JakschCzech Sudeten German Socialdemocrat politician (1896-1966)
- Wenzel JamnitzerGerman artist (1508-1585)1507–1585
- Wenzel HablikGerman artist (1881-1934)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Wenzel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hartzell
Hartzell is a surname from German.
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Wilbert
“one who is willful; a bright man”
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Odell
“a sweet melody” · “one who is wealthy”
98% boys · 2% girls
Rector
Rector is a surname from German.
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Mayland
“milan”
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Wilmer
“a strong-willed and wellknown man”
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Warner
“of the defending army”
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Erwin
“a friend of the wild boar”
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